Fallen Leaves

Dir. Aki Kaurismäki. 2023, Finland, 81 mins. DCP. In Finnish with English subtitles. With Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen. There’s nothing quite like a movie by Aki Kaurismäki, who has been honing to perfection sweetly melancholic stories of lonely eccentrics for decades. His latest, Fallen Leaves, in which a grocery store employee (Pöysti) and a construction worker (Vatanen) appear to fall for each other, but spend their days evading and circling one another, is one of his purest, sweetest doses. Yet firmly set within our contemporary reality—amidst news reports of endless war, economic deprivation, rampant unemployment—it’s not without its real-world wakeup calls. With its references to Chaplin and Bresson, its love of moviemaking, and its adoration of people in their quietest moments, this gloriously small yet emotionally huge variation on the romantic comedy is a delight beginning to end. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. A MUBI release. 

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.